A few days ago I asked my sons’ governess(女家庭教师)Julia to come into my study. “Be seated, Julia, ”I said, “Let’s settle our accounts. I guess you most likely need some money, but maybe you’re too polite to mention it. Now then, we agreed on thirty dollars a month...”

  “Forty.”

  “No, thirty. I made a note of it. I always pay our governess thirty. Well, um, you’ve been here two months, so...”

  “Two months and five days.”

  “Exactly two months. I made a special note of it. That means you have sixty dollars coming to you. Take off nine Sundays... you know you didn’t work with Tom on Sundays, you only took walks. And three holidays... ”Julia was biting her finger nail nervously, her face red, but - not a word.

  “Three holidays, therefore take off twelve dollars. Four days Tom was sick and there were no lessons, as you were occupied only with Dick. Three days you had a toothache and my wife gave you permission not to work after lunch. Twelve and seven - nineteen. Take nineteen off ... that leaves. hmm.... forty one dollars. Correct?”

  Julia’s left eye reddened with tears welling up. Her chin trembled; she coughed nervously and blew her nose, but - still not a word.

  “Around New Year’s Day you broke a teacup and a saucer; take off two dollars. The cup cost more, it was a treasure of the family, but- forget it. When didn’t I take a loss! Then, due to your neglect (疏忽), Tom climbed a tree and tore his jacket; take away ten. Also due to your carelessness the maid stole Dick’s shoes. You ought to watch everything! You get paid for it. So, that means five more dollars off. The tenth of January I gave ten dollars.”

  “You didn’t. ”sobbed Julia.

  “But I made a note of it.”

  “Well... if you say so.”

  “Take twenty seven from forty one -that leaves fourteen.”

  Both her eyes were filled with tears. Beads of sweat stood on the thin pretty little nose. Poor girl!

  “Only once was I given any money,” she whispered, her voice trembling, “and that was by your wife. Three dollars, nothing more.”

  “Really? You see now, and I didn’t know that! Take three from fourteen.. leaves eleven. Here’s your money, my dear. Three, three, three, one and one. Here it is !”

  I handed her eleven dollars. She took them and pocketed them.

  “Merci (法语: 谢谢),”she whispered.

  I jumped to my feet and started pacing the room. I was overcome with anger. “For what, this - ‘merci’?” I asked.

  “For the money. ”

  “But you know I’ve cheated you - robbed you ! I have actually stolen from you ! Why this‘merci’?”

  “In my other places they didn’t give me anything at all.”

  “They didn’t give you anything? No wonder! I played a little joke on you, a cruel lesson, just to teach you... I m going to give you all the eighty dollars! Here they are in the envelope all ready for you... Is it really possible to be so spineless (懦弱)?Why didn’t you protest? Why were you silent? Is it possible in this world to be without teeth and claws(爪)—to be such a fool?”

  Embarrassed, she smiled. And I could read her expression,“It is possible.”

  I asked her pardon for the cruel lesson and, to her great surprise, gave her the eighty dollars. She murmured her little“merci”several times and went out. I looked after her and thought,“How easy it is to crush the weak in this world !”

While talking to Julia, the wrier expected from her ________.

  A. a protest           B. gratitude

  C. obedience           D. an explanation

What shocked the writer was Julia’s ________.

  A. nervousness in front of her boss

  B. acceptance of injustice

  C. shyness when talking about money

  D. reluctance to express herself

The writer said, “Is it possible in this world to be without teeth and claws?” He was actually telling the governess ________.

  A. to be more aggressive

  B. to be more careful in her work

  C. to protect her right

  D. to live independently

At the end of the story, the writer said,“ How easy it is to crush the weak in this world!”to show ________.

  A. his understanding of Julia’s anxiety

  B. his worry about Julia’s future

  C. his concern on the living condition of working - class people

  D. his sympathy for the mental state of those exploited

From the story, we can tell that Julia’s employer was ________.

  A. greedy but honest

  B. ill - tempered but warm - hearted

  C. strict but forgiving

  D. none of the above

Dear Dad,

I was very upset when I received your letter. I knew you  46 not like my results, but I didn’t realize you and Mum were so  47 with me. This has made me  48 very carefully about myself, and now I  49  how silly I have been.

My poor  50 have come from my own  51 . Of course, I want to do my best. I want you and Mum to be proud  52  me, but somehow when I get to school I just can’t keep my   53  on the subject and I stop  54  the teacher. So many other things seem so much more  55 , but I know that I must not  56 the chance you and Mum have given me. If I don’t work very hard  57  the next few months, I am going to get  58 results. So I am going to study hard this summer. And I will show Mum anything  59 I can’t understand so that she can give me help.

I  60 you will allow me to play some basketball. I think I need some exercise,   61 _ I will control the time I   62 on it properly.

If you want me to stop meeting Cindy, I will — but there is  63 serious. We are just good friends, and she often helps me  64 my schoolwork.

Dad, I am really sorry I have made you angry. I’m going to try my best to  65 my study. I promise that I will make you proud of me soon.

Yours,

Jimmy

1.

A.will

B.would

C.need

D.should

 

2.

A.angry

B.upset

C.strict

D.happy

 

3.

A.talk

B.speak

C.think

D.hear

 

4.

A.receive

B.believe

C.insist

D.realize

 

5.

A.results

B.memories

C.parents

D.friends

 

6.

A.stubbornness

B.carelessness

C.laziness

D.illness

 

7.

A.of

B.with

C.in

D.for

 

8.

A.head

B.mind

C.eyes

D.heart

 

9.

A.listening to

B.to listen to

C.hearing

D.to hear

 

10.

A.boring

B.dull

C.beautiful

D.interesting

 

11.

A.find

B.share

C.waste

D.afford

 

12.

A.during

B.at

C.through

D.until

 

13.

A.better

B.best

C.poorer

D.poorest

 

14.

A.which

B.that

C.whom

D.what

 

15.

A.wish

B.advise

C.hope

D.decide

 

16.

A.and

B.but

C.so

D.because

 

17.

A.spend

B.take

C.cost

D.pay

 

18.

A.everything

B.something

C.anything

D.nothing

 

19.

A.in

B.on

C.with

D.by

 

20.

A.develop

B.improve

C.interest

D.finish

 

    I must have been about fourteen then, and I put away the incident from my mind with the

easy carelessness of  youth. But the words, Carl Walter spoke that day, came back to me years

later, and ever since have been of great value to me.

Carl Walter was my piano teacher. During one of my lessons he asked how much practicing I was doing. I said three or four hours a day.

"Do you practice in long stretches, an hour at a time?"

"I try to."

"Well, don't," he exclaimed. "When you grow up, time won't come in long stretches.    Practice in minutes, whenever you can find them five or ten before school, after lunch, between household tasks. Spread the practice through the day, and piano-playing will become a part of your life."

When I was teaching at Columbia, I wanted to write, but class periods, theme-reading, and committee meetings filled my days and evenings. For two years I got practically nothing down on paper, and my excuse was that I had no time. Then I remembered what Carl Walter had said. During the next week I conducted an experiment. Whenever I had five minutes unoccupied, I sat down and wrote a hundred words or so. To my astonishment, at the end of the week I had a rather large manuscript ready for revision, later on I wrote novels by the same piecemeal method. Though my teaching schedule had become heavier than ever, in every day there were idle moments which could be caught and put to use. I even took up piano--playing again, finding that the small intervals of the day provided sufficient time for both writing and piano practice.

There is an important trick in this time--using formula: you must get into your work quickly. If you have but five minutes for writing, you can't afford to waste four chewing your pencil. You must make your mental preparations beforehand, and concentrate on your task almost instantly when the time comes. Fortunately, rapid concentration is easier than most of us realize.

I admit I have never learnt how to let go easily at the end of the five or ten minutes. But life can be counted on to supply interruptions. Carl Walter has had a tremendous influence on my life. To him I owe the discovery that even very short periods of time add up to all useful hours I need, if I plunge(投入)in without delay.

56.The meaning of “stretch” in the underlined part is the same as that in sentence “       ”.

A.The forests in the north of the province stretch for hundreds of miles.

B.Bob worked as a government official for a stretch of over twenty years.

C.My family wasn’t wealthy by any stretch of the imagination.

D.During his senior year his earnings far enough to buy an old car.

57.Which of the following statements is true?

  A.The writer didn’t completely take the teacher’s words to heart at first.

  B.Carl Walter has had a great influence on the writer's life since he became a student.

  C.The writer owes great thanks to his teacher for teaching him to work in long stretches.

  D.Rapid concentration is actually more difficult than most people imagine.

58.We can infer that the writer             

A.has new books published each year however busy his teaching is

B.is always tired of interruptions in life because his teaching schedule is always heavy

C.has formed a bad habit of chewing a pencil while writing his novels

D.can find sufficient time for mental preparations beforehand, so he's devoted to work   instantly

59.What is the best title of this passage?

A.Concentrate on Your Work           B.A Little at a Time

C.How I Became a Writer                 D.Good AdviceIs Most Valuable

 

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